It is an uncomfortable truth. One we don’t want to face. A truth that many of us in this room might be feeling now. It’s a truth that one day each of us, no matter our age will know. That truth is that the new always replaces the old.

There are things that have been around for awhile that are now gone. Gone are the horse-driven carriages, they have been replaced by cars. Gone is the telegraph, it was replaced by the telephone which is being replaced by the cell phone and texting. Gone is Blockbuster Video, replaced by Netflix. Gone is Sears, replaced by Amazon. The new always replaces the old.

I like reading history. I like getting a sense of the story that has been given to me. The stories the lectionary gives us today are the stories of Hannah praying and of Jesus being a party pooper. They may seem unconnected, but they are very much connected by the start and end of a certain story.

Hannah is praying in the House of the Lord. She was the favorite of the two wives of Elkanah but was infertile. Being infertile was the ultimate tragedy for a married woman in those times, since only by bearing a son to her husband could she provide the means of securing inheritance and keeping the family name going. Hannah had a rival who constantly made fun of her infertility. Hannah often wept and refused to eat.  She was praying, her mouth was moving, but no sound was coming out. Prayer in the ancient world was almost always audible.[1] The priest Eli notices her prayer style and thinks she’s drunk.  She tells Eli what she’s praying for and lo and behold, she gets pregnant and names the child Samuel, which means “God has Heard.”

Samuel will go on to be raised with Eli. He will anoint Saul and then David as King over Israel. King David and his son Solomon will build the temple in Jerusalem. It is the temple that connects the two stories. The beginning of the temple effectively starts here with Hannah and her prayer for a son.

The temple was the place where God lived. It was built twice. King David started the first build from the Tabernacle that Hannah had prayed in. David’s son, Solomon, finished the Temple for the first time in 953 BCE. The Babylonians destroyed it in 587 BCE. Then the Israelites returned from exile and rebuilt it under Persian rule, but construction really picked up during King Herod’s rule. The Romans destroyed it in  70 CE. Nothing remains of the Temple save the Western Wall.[2]

Hannah prays at the beginning, just before the Temple is built. Jesus is at the end, right before everything is torn down and not one stone is left upon another except for the Western Wall.

It would be hard for the disciples to imagine the Temple being a new thing. For them, the Temple had always been there. The Temple must have been massive to them. They were country mice in the big city. They looked, mouths hanging open in awe, only to have their master say, “This will be torn down. All of it. None of it will be left.”

They had to have been shocked. Philip asks, “When will this take place?”

And Jesus gets really cryptic. “Wars and rumors of wars. Plagues. Famine. Earthquakes. These are but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

There are things that have been around for awhile that are now gone. Gone is Whitey’s Army Navy on the Medina Square. Gone is Fishers Grocery. Gone is the Princess Theater. Gone is the fountain in the square.

The new always replaces the old. This can be cause for concern. The pace of the world is speeding up. There seem to be wars and rumors of wars. Nation is rising up against nation. Many of you are concerned by the rhetoric coming from the White House. I too am concerned. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Journalism. I don’t like hearing that the press is the enemy of the people. That is frightening to me. Yet this is the new world that has replaced the old world.

Many folks have asked me, “With all this going on, do you think this is the end of the world?” I have pondered this. In the light of all this change, will this be the end of us?

Then I remember. I remember that for Christians, the end of the world has already happened. For Jewish people, the end has already come and gone. The Temple was destroyed. Again. Not one stone was left upon the other save for that one part now known as the Wailing Wall. Life was completely upended and re-ordered. Something new had to be born.

Synagogues and the early house-churches rose up. This was a revolutionary concept. God wasn’t just in the Temple, God could be worshiped everywhere! No animal sacrifice needed. Gone is the corrupt and removed high priest “who is unable to sympathize with our weakness and shame, but we have one who in every respect has been tested, as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”[3]

Something new was born at the ending of the Temple: God was with us in Jesus Christ. God loves and accepts us, and we don’t need to feel like we are being replaced. For in all the change in life, there are universals.

Jesus taught his disciples what those were. He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”[4]

Don’t put your faith in how much you make. Or big impressive buildings, for truly I tell you not one stone will be left upon another. Don’t put your faith in leaders or kings, for we have one king, one leader in Christ. Jesus who is for us the incarnation of God, and God who is love. Nurture the universals that are the fruit of the spirit. Things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those are the universals. And the greatest of these is love.

Love has always been the message. I don’t remember the ornateness of the church service of my youth, but I remember the love I felt sitting next to my family. I don’t remember the amount spent on a meal, as much as I remember how the conversation flowed so easily among friends I love. I don’t remember the dates with Kate, actually I do. I’m a hopeless romantic like that. It is in those places where love is most fully felt that I’m putting my trust.

In my family. In my kids. In my friends. In my church.

We can easily lose sight of this. We can put our treasure in things. In programs. In ideologies or political parties. Those things might have us for a time, but the true knitting of lives together can only be done in love.

“We can do all manner of things, but if we don’t have love, they are worthless.”[5] We can feed all the hungry families in Medina, but if we don’t have love then don’t bother. We can remodel this building but if we don’t love those who are in it or who visit it, then tear it down. If I preach all the right words but they don’t have love in them, fire me.

The new will always replace the old. But the old can nurture the new in love. Can bond themselves so tightly in love that our hearts will walk around outside of our bodies. When we engage in such work. Whether it’s parenting, teaching our youth, mentoring, serving, working at our jobs, or advising as we enjoy our retirement… Even telling stories of how life used to be, when told in love; we are saving the world.

Here’s the great secret. The world is always ending and always being reborn. People, pets, products, and such come and go, but those we remember are those we love the most. Something new is always being born. Let us all be the midwives who bring the new in with love. Let us be the living reminders of the love of God shown in Jesus who is ultimately unimpressed with the Temple. It’s God saying, “That building… Meh. What I really want you to do is build love between neighbors. What I really want is for you to construct bridges between yourself and your enemy. This is harder, but it lasts way longer.”

My hope is that at whatever table you are at for Thanksgiving; whether you are hosting, a guest, at a new place, at a church fellowship hall, at a home you know so well… My hope is that you will realize that you are a temple dedicated to the God-who-is-love. My hope is that you will be the agent of reconciliation and love and gratitude.

My hope is that you will discover that that mercy and grace are always ours and they are made new each day. World without end. Amen.

Works Cited

[1] The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Volume 3. “Hannah.”

[2] Eerdman’s Dictionary of the Bible, “Temple.” Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids MI, 2000. Page 1282-1283.

[3] Hebrews 4:14-16

[4] Matthew 6:19-21

[5] 1 Corinthians 13